According to the Los Angeles Photo Curator organization, Ukrainian photographer Olena Hrom, with a photo titled “Olena,” became the photographer of the year. This is stated on the L.A. Photo Curator website.
“This powerful photograph creates a striking contrast between the object and the scenes in the background. The juxtaposition of the destroyed house suggests a story of loss – perhaps due to war or natural disaster – and makes the viewer wonder if the person in the foreground ever lived there,” reads the description of the photo” Elena.”
The winning photo is part of Grom’s “Stolen Spring” series. The photographer said she created this series “in a historical dialogue” with the photographs of Polish photographer Michael Nash, who used a decorative background to disguise the ruins of Warsaw after World War II in 1945-1946.
Olena Hrom was born in Donetsk. In April 2014, she was forced to leave the city due to Russian aggression in the east of the country. Since 2017, the photographer has been living in Bucha, Kyiv region.
